At its Aug. 16 meeting, the Roslyn Board of Education voted unanimously to appoint David J. Helme as the interim superintendent for the school district.

In other news, the board set Tuesday, Oct. 5 as the date for new school board elections. There currently are two vacancies on the BOE.

The BOE still plans to hire a superintendent on a more permanent basis, but that search could take a year or more before a candidate is chosen. BOE members have said that they wanted to select an interim superintendent as quickly as possible.

Since the resignation of Dr. Frank A. Tassone in early June, Dr. Charles Piemonte has served as acting superintendent.

If the name of the new superintendent sounds familiar, it is because David Helme most recently served as superintendent of the neighboring East Williston School District. He served in that capacity from 1992 up until his retirement in 1997. Before that, Helme was principal of the Wheatley School, which is a senior high school in the East Williston district. He was an assistant superintendent in the Port Washington district and a teacher and principal in the Great Neck district.

Helme's term runs through June 30, 2005. As interim superintendent, he will be cooperating with the ongoing investigations and audits of the district's operation as well as recommending procedures and actions to prevent any future repetition.

The resignations of Trustees Michael Barkan and Ellen Seigel left the two vacancies, which will be filled after the Oct. 5 elections.

Candidates who wish to run for a seat on the school board must file a petition by Sept. 7, which is 30 days prior to the election.

Board seats are "at large," meaning candidates do not run for a specific seat. The two highest vote winners will be elected and will become board members immediately after the results of the vote are accepted.

For candidate and voter information, please contact Phyllis Zampino, the district clerk, at 625-6599.

Once the Oct. 5 elections are completed, the BOE will have a dramatically different look to it than it did before the scandal broke. At the May 18 elections, one incumbent, Karen Bodner, was defeated, while another, Rona Niederman, declined to run for re-election. With the resignations of Barkan and Siegel, only William Costigan, Pat Schissel, and Maryanne Combs are left from the pre-scandal school board.

On May 18, both Stanley Stern and Judith Wilner were elected to the board. At a recent meeting, Costigan resigned his position as school board president. The BOE then approved Stanley Stern as its new president and Wilner as vice president.

During his brief tenure as acting superintendent, Dr. Piemonte saw his main job as making sure the school district had a budget to work with for the coming year. Last month's passage of the revised school budget was a needed victory for district officials.

In addition, Dr. Piemonte tried to keep school activities, such as the June graduation ceremony on schedule as the district struggled with the ramifications of each new bombshell from the embezzlement scandal. The district also continued with planning for the 2004-2005 school year by hiring new teachers where they were needed.

Above all, Dr. Piemonte had to deal with the significant problem of staff morale. Upon taking the reigns as acting superintendent in June, Dr. Piemonte drafted a letter to all staff members, from custodians to bus drivers, to let them know that the district's day-to-day business was being conducted on schedule.

Being named acting superintendent wasn't a complete surprise to Dr. Piemonte. When he came to the Roslyn School District in 2002, it was to serve as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Whoever served in that position is generally considered next in line for the superintendent's job if such an opening occurs.